Owen Burrows' talented 3-year-old Massaat (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) is to take a break following his disappointing effort in the G1 Investec Derby. The colt, considered by many beforehand as a doubtful stayer, finished ninth behind Harzand (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), but Burrows feels it wasn't a lack of stamina to contributed to the defeat.
“He seems fine since Epsom and there are no real excuses as such – he just ran flat,” said Burrows. “He was going up in trip there but was beaten too soon for that to have been an excuse.
Massaat previously ran second to Galileo Gold (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}) in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and was a potential runner in the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at The Curragh later in the month, but that plan has now been scrapped.
“His owner Sheikh Hamdan wants to give him a break and look for something in the middle of summer, so he won't go for the Irish Derby,” Burrows concluded. “I think we will look at races over 10 furlongs and then look to make a plan.”
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